Introduced in the Senate on January 11, 2011
Introduced in the House on March 27, 2012
Last Amended on June 5, 2012
Passed by the General Assembly on June 7, 2012
Governor's Action: June 18, 2012, Signed

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 63-19-1440, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COMMITMENT OF JUVENILES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE TO ALLOW A JUVENILE WHO IS TEMPORARILY COMMITTED TO ITS CUSTODY, AFTER BEING ADJUDICATED FOR A STATUS OFFENSE, MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE, OR A PROBATION VIOLATION OR CONTEMPT, TO UNDERGO A COMMUNITY EVALUATION WHILE RESIDING IN HIS HOME OR IN HIS HOME COMMUNITY WITH CERTAIN SAFEGUARDS AND EXCEPTIONS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 63-19-1835 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE MAY GRANT UP TO A TEN-DAY REDUCTION EACH MONTH TO PROBATIONERS AND PAROLEES WHO ARE COMPLIANT WITH THE TERMS OF THEIR SUPERVISION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Department of Juvenile Justice, community evaluations

SECTION 1. Section 63-19-1440(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(C) The court, before committing a child as a delinquent or as a part of a sentence including commitments for contempt, shall order a community evaluation or temporarily commit the child to the Department of Juvenile Justice for not more than forty-five days for evaluation. A community evaluation is equivalent to a residential evaluation, but it is not required to include all components of a residential evaluation. However, in either evaluation the department shall make a recommendation to the court on the appropriate disposition of the case and shall submit that recommendation to the court before final disposition. The department is authorized to allow any child adjudicated delinquent for a status offense, a misdemeanor offense, or violation of probation or contempt for any offense who is temporarily committed to the department's custody for a residential evaluation, to reside in that child's home or in his home community while undergoing a community evaluation, unless the committing judge finds and concludes in the order for evaluation, that a community evaluation of the child must not be conducted because the child presents an unreasonable flight or public safety risk to his home community. The court may waive in writing the evaluation of the child and proceed to issue final disposition in the case if the child:

(1) has previously received a residential evaluation or a community evaluation and the evaluation is available to the court;

(2) has been within the past year temporarily or finally discharged or conditionally released for parole from a correctional institution of the department, and the child's previous evaluation or other equivalent information is available to the court; or

Department of Juvenile Justice, compliance reductions for probationers and parolees

SECTION 2. Article 17, Chapter 19, Title 63 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 63-19-1835. The department may grant up to a ten-day reduction of the probationary or parole term to probationers and parolees who are under the department's supervision for each month they are compliant with the terms and conditions of their probation or parole order."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 12th day of June, 2012.

Approved the 18th day of June, 2012.

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Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 10:00 A.M.